Angel Dust
by Shiro Ryuu
Summary: PHENCYCLIDINE: noun, a piperidine derivative C17H25N used illicitly as a psychedelic drug, called also [aNgEl dUsT]... KatanxRosiel, SetsunaxSara, a bit of AlexielxKurai, and many others along the way! AU
1. Red Carpet

**Disclaimer: **(hoards) My pr_eeeee_cious...

**AN: **Okay, the basics... This is a school drama; I'm deeply apologetic. In addition to the main pairings, will contain Kurai crushin' on Setsuna, Rosiel crushin' on Alexiel (surprised?), and some actual action between Alexiel and Kira. Also, Sara's and Setsuna's folks never split up. Kurai is their childhood friend. Rosiel and Alexiel haven't seen each other since the beginning of middle school. And finally... boys and girls kissing, _eeew_! Er... But I'm just so used to writing yaoi, nervous grin. This chapter right here probably contains the most heated hentai scene I've ever written... not saying much, trust me. The yuri scares me more, though, but I'll do my best when the time comes I guess, sweatdrop. I, er, like to challenge myself...?

* * *

**Chapter One: **Red Carpet

* * *

_From the edge of the roof, he could see the world. At least it felt like it, anyway. The cankerous mass of a city sprawled out for untold miles below him. Wind whistled between the buildings in this private world he'd discovered, and threatened to push him off before he was ready._

_He could really understand, now that he was actually here, why some chose to end their lives in such a fashion. Everybody wishes they could fly..._

_A man down below turned his face up to look at him. It was strange, because he must have been thirty stories high, and yet he could make out that beautiful face perfectly. That incredible hair, which he supposed they both coveted, and that vaguely bored expression that hadn't truly left his face for years and years... Mesmerized, he took one step forward, the longest step in the world..._

_Rosiel..._

_Catch me!_

_Catch me or I'll fall..._

* * *

Beep. Beep, beep.

Hmm... Apparently denying its existence was not enough to make it go away. Beep. Beep, beeeeeeep.

Katan thrust a hand out blindly, and by sheer luck managed to knock the alarm clock on to the floor. He moaned, and opted to put his head under the pillow rather than retrieve it. He had a sinking suspicion that suffocating might be better than waking up fully.

"Katan! Turn that alarm clock off already! Are you even awake? You're going to be late!"

He groaned. Ah, yes... School. He removed the pillow from his head with great reluctance. The first day of senior year...

He'd rather go back to dreaming.

* * *

Katan and Rosiel had met on their first year of middle school, and had been best friends ever since... or, well, something like that.

Katan observed the beautiful boy now from across the classroom he'd just entered; Rosiel was already seated and had not yet noticed him, so he took a moment to take him in. (How did he manage to get around the school hair code for a third year?) (Why does he never tan over the summer?) (Is he even more beautiful than before...?)

Rosiel looked up now, and beckoned him with a glowing smile. That smile... Katan knew, had known for years, that the wider Rosiel's smile, the more dangerous his mood...

But the funny thing - _deadly_ hilarious, really - about Katan was that he could never say 'no' to Rosiel. Katan took the seat next to him.

Rosiel didn't say anything, a casual 'hello' or otherwise, so Katan didn't say anything either, and watched him draw instead. Rosiel was an ingenious artist. Rosiel was ingenious at everything he did, actually, which was one reason why everyone fawned over him - everyone except Katan, who fawned over him for rather different reasons. His only flaw in the teachers' minds was his tendency towards disturbingly dark subjects. Take this drawing, for instance - and it was a fine example indeed, since it was his favorite doodle - a vision of mindless sci-fi horror, thick wires and blood-soaked gears ripping out from underneath taut skin covering tortured limbs...

The bright room gradually filled up with people and voices, but Katan had eyes only for the macabre picture as it unfolded. He wondered pointlessly which of the many facets of Rosiel's madness compelled him to draw this horrible thing over and over again, so often that he was pretty much numb to it anymore...

A change in the atmosphere had been tugging on the edges of his nerves, but finally something caught his attention enough to alert him to the fact that the teacher was talking. He also noticed that Rosiel had stopped drawing...

_Alexi...?_

"...was originally attending high school in Yokohama, but due to our superior facilities, once her academic abilities were recognized, it was decided that she would transfer here to Tokyo..."

_Alexiel._

He stared for a long moment at the girl at the head of the class. The only visible difference between her and the young man he sat next to would've been the deep dark color of her hair, to anyone else. She wore a small grin, and he followed her eyes to Rosiel's.

The whole time the teacher spoke her introduction, the beautiful boy never blinked. He didn't blink once, even when she was told to sit with another group across the room - Setsuna, Sara, and Kurai, Katan thought vaguely. Even when she laughed at something the boy said, he still didn't blink; his eyes only narrowed...

* * *

The moment the class was dismissed, Rosiel was by her side. The group she'd been sitting with dispersed, and Katan meandered toward the two at a more leisurely pace, watching his feet.

Rosiel stared at her for a long moment. "I missed you too," she teased him, breaking the spell part-way.

"How...?" he murmured.

She shrugged. "What sensei said. This is supposed to be a way better school." She grinned. "But guess what? I'm not living with mom anymore; I saved up enough money to start renting an apartment up here. She didn't care. I would've written you all about it, but I couldn't find your address... Isn't it great?"

Rosiel reached out to touch her, perhaps to hug her, at least to see if she was real, but she'd already started toward the door without waiting for a reply. "Come on, I don't want to be late! Where's the English class?"

Katan, following behind, wished he didn't have to look, but his eyes were drawn helplessly upward. Slowly they went from his feet to their feet... Rosiel had fallen in synch with her. Further up... his hand, close enough to grasp hers, and from the way it was clenching and uncurling, over and over, Katan knew Rosiel was well aware of it.

And finally, his face. Katan could see it in profile, because he inclined it towards Alexiel to speak to her. Flushed skin, eyes locked on her, eloquent words tumbling from clumsy lips just a little too fast...

Katan sighed, dug his fists deep into his pockets, and returned his gaze to the floor.

The twins came to a stop, and Rosiel frowned up at the number over the doorway next to them. His next class was Chemistry... Alexiel smiled at him, but then she glanced into the room and smiled wider. "Well, I guess you've got to go. I'll have to introduce you sometime, though - you see him?" She chuckled. "The mean-looking one, over there? That's Kira Sakuya - my boyfriend."

While she went on about the luck of them both managing to get approved for a transfer, Rosiel studied the black-haired man with another unblinking stare. Katan watched, unobserved, with wide yet emotionless eyes.

* * *

That evening, Alexiel and Kira lay together on the couch in front of the TV, but the volume was low, and they both stared at the screen without seeing. Kira played with Alexiel's hair.

"Are you happy?"

She smiled. "Very. I made some friends already." She laughed softly, shaking her head. "But did you see him? He always _was _jealous of my hair when we were little... God, it's been so long! I missed him so-"

"I don't like him," Kira muttered. Deft fingers worked dark hair into tiny braids and picked them out again. "He looked... cruel. A little nuts. And cold." He smirked. "Colder than you. Must run in the family."

She smirked too. "More than me, really? I need to try harder."

Then the hands in her hair were tipping her head back, a touch unkindly, and sensitive flesh met flesh. Alexiel sighed into the kiss, and fisted her fingers with equal roughness in Kira's hair. Kira never did like to talk for long, but that was okay, since she thought the best thing about him was the way he kissed, too.

She reveled in the heat of his tongue in her mouth, reveled in the sinful heat already growing between her legs. When he tried to reach a hand up her shirt, she struggled, so that they wound up in a heap on the floor. He bit her neck; she raked her nails over his back. He grabbed her wrists and held them above her, and touched her breast; she kicked him in the shin hard enough to make him hiss. Never-mind the way she moaned and arched against his hand...

The moment he let go of her wrists to bury his fingers in her hair again, however, she pushed him away, and stood while dusting herself off before he could recover from his startlement enough to pull her back. "Not tonight," she said simply, smiled, and left the room.

Kira stared after her, or after her swaying hips.

Alexiel went to her room, shutting the door firmly behind her. She tidied up a bit, repacked her school bag for tomorrow, and polished off her homework. Then she picked out a pair of pajamas, got undressed, and stepped into the adjacent bathroom. She turned the water on to hot and got in once it'd warmed up a bit, closing her eyes and tipping her head back to soak her hair. And when a pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist from behind, she smiled, small and mysterious and grim.

* * *

Kurai had a plan, really she did. The only problem was that, now that she was in a position to carry it out, she wasn't sure if she could.

She had decided it couldn't wait any longer pretty much the first time that bitch Alexiel laughed, at one of Setsuna's dumb jokes no less. She'd been waiting all day for an opportunity, but it seemed that none were going to present themselves now that she finally wanted them to, so in the end she had to make her own, by pretty much inviting herself over to a homework session with Sara and Setsuna. They'd been at it - and she'd been busily complaining of being hungry - for half an hour before Sara had wandered out with the vague goal of getting 'some snacks, or maybe some tea?'

And now there they were - blindingly, painfully alone together. Well, 'blindingly' and 'painfully' to her, anyway; Setsuna appeared to be blissfully unaware. He seemed to be that way about most things, Kurai reflected, and tried to muster some courage.

"S..."

He glanced across the table at her, and blinked. "What was that?"

She stared at him in horror. Where had that come from? And she hadn't even managed to get out the first _syllable! _And, and, now she'd attracted his attention, dammit! "Um..." Her palms were sweating... "S-Setsuna?" He blinked again, frowning lightly now. "Do - Do you like me?-!"

"...Sure?" he said uneasily, and tried for a light laugh.

She moaned in frustration. "No - you - ugh, you know what I mean!"

And in finest tradition of coincidences, _crash_.

Sara stood in the doorway with a line of tea spreading down the bottom of her dress - the rest was spreading across the floor out of shattered cups - and her hands clasped over her mouth, looking for all the world as if she'd just stumbled upon a corpse. They gawped at her, and she hurriedly dropped her hands from over her mouth to over her heart.

"Ah... I can't believe I'm so clumsy! I'll go get something... clean it..." She smiled, and fled.

Setsuna jumped up, only to be jerked back by a hand at his elbow. Kurai said nothing, but merely looked at him with a shocked, hurt expression; he grinned helplessly.

"I'm sorry, but can we talk about this later? I know... it's important to you..." He vaulted easily over the broken china, and was gone.

After a long, long time, Kurai got up and followed him. She did not, however, go into the room with the softly murmuring voices; in spite of the bitter wind she knew awaited her, she made a beeline for the door. As she made her way to her house, she kicked up leaves in the street, and muttered under her breath, "Damn bitch..."

* * *

**AN: **Eh... I want chocolate, dammit. But I'll settle for reviews :) If you have a question, or multiple questions even, don't be shy; it confuses me too -.-;;


	2. Self Centric

**Disclaimer: **(evil glint in eyes) Spork attack!

**AN: **My stomach dislikes me. It's basically saying 'you suck!', but in four-letter words. Nevertheless, here we go!

* * *

**Chapter Two: **Self Centric

* * *

She really had tried. He couldn't believe that she'd actually tried. But there it was - a roll of paper towels, on the table next to where she pillowed her head in her arms and cried. She jumped when Setsuna touched her shoulder, and hurriedly scrubbed at her face. It didn't do much good, since the tears kept coming.

"What's wrong?" Setsuna asked incredulously, heart beating just a bit too fast.

She tried to fake a smile for him, but then she had to look away again; she shrugged miserably. "What did you tell her?"

"Uh..." He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Actually..."

Sara's eyes whipped around to him again, and she was glaring. "You didn't answer her?-!" She hit him in the chest with the paper towels, but just doing so once seemed to sap her energy; she shook her head with a small grin. "Oh, oniichan... you're hopeless..."

"Well..." he said cleverly, with a small nervous grin of his own. Then he knelt down next to her, causing her to glance at him in surprise. "What's wrong?" he asked again, softly.

She flushed, and looked annoyed about it, and turned to face full forward again. "Oh, it's stupid... it's just... I guess I'd kind of hoped that nothing would have to change between the three of us. I mean, at least not yet, you know?" She smiled brightly at him, even though her eyes were still overly liquid.

Setsuna, for his part, felt like a little bit of him crumpled, just like that.

* * *

The next morning, Alexiel found herself beginning to truly believe that the world was out to get her.

To start things off, she'd overslept - for _some _reason - and yet she was still tired. Plus, she'd barely had time to rip a brush through her hair, let alone have breakfast. And on top of it all, she'd only just entered the schoolyard when one of her supposed 'new friends' stormed up to her, glaring black death.

"Hi?" Alexiel suggested, somewhere between warily and wearily.

"I need to _talk_ to you," Kurai ground out. And, so suddenly that there was really nothing she could do in her partially out-of-it state, Alexiel found herself being dragged off by the arm, into the nearest vacant classroom.

"What the hell?" she demanded, wresting her wrist free. At which point Kurai reached back and slapped her.

She trembled with righteous rage as she shouted: "S-Stay away from Setsuna!"

Alexiel grimaced back from the volume of her voice, and then punched her hard enough to knock her to the floor.

"You're a woman," she said dryly. "That means you're allowed to hit other women properly." Kurai, to her credit, glared up at her while her fingers quickly assessed her bruised lip; Alexiel sighed, and perched herself on the edge of the teacher's desk. "What the hell?" she repeated. "Setsuna's that guy I met yesterday, right?"

Kurai's scowl deepened. "Yeah! And you better stay away from him! I've known him since we were kids-"

"You?" she said curiously. "This is about you? I thought he was already taken. The way they acted - isn't he with that Sara girl?"

Kurai gaped at her for a moment, and Alexiel saw something switch off behind her eyes. The tears that had been threatening since she'd been hit spilled over, and she bowed her head to try to hide them.

"He's not?" Alexiel hazarded quietly.

"She's his _sister_," Kurai hissed. "I told him - that I liked him - and she got so upset-" she hiccupped miserably, "-and he just ran after her! He hardly even looked at me!"

Alexiel's eyes widened. "You don't think they-?"

"No!"

"They _are_, aren't they?"

"I don't know," she moaned around her tears, and bit her lip. "I think... I don't know... It's so disgusting..."

Alexiel sighed again, and slipped to the floor next to the other girl. "Don't talk like that," she said sternly. "You know people can't help things like that. No one ever can." She shrugged. "That's supposed to be the beauty of it, or something like that. He's not hurting you if he wants his sister any more than he would by wanting some other girl, so don't get prejudiced over it." She smiled sadly. "It's okay to hate him a little for wanting someone else, though."

Kurai blinked up at her. "You don't understand!" she insisted, sniveling. "They're my best friends! And I don't know - if I can... be around them any more. I don't know if I even want to!"

Alexiel shook her head, and used her sleeve to dab at the girl's face irritably. "Oh, Christ - pull yourself together! So he was an insensitive jerk; guys in love are just like that. _You _made the big mistake. It was okay to tell him how you felt - but it sounds like you really put him on the spot, by expecting him to return those feelings when you _knew _he liked someone else. Were you just in denial?" She scoffed. "I would've run too."

Kurai gawked at her some more, shocked right out of crying. "You - how dare-" she stuttered. But Alexiel interrupted her, by brushing Kurai's damp hair off her face with a smile.

"But, you know... Setsuna seems like a nice guy. I bet he won't hold it against you... You could probably still go back to being just friends pretty comfortably, if that's something you want." Kurai was wide-eyed and silent.

Alexiel glanced up at the clock over her shoulder, and cussed. "Now look what you've done! You made us fifteen minutes late!" She scrambled to her feet, and grabbed Kurai's hand in a strong grip on the way up.

* * *

That afternoon, Kira and Alexiel ate lunch with Rosiel and Katan for a second time. From the expression on Kira's face, it was clear whose idea it had been. He sat to Alexiel's right, and Rosiel to her left; Katan sat across the table from Kira, watching silently. Kira was about as silent as he was, if more obviously brooding; Rosiel had completely monopolized his sister's attention with ease.

Alexiel - because she was busy eating ravenously and trying to make it look like she wasn't - probably didn't notice, but Katan's dull eyes took it all in from across the table. The way he kept brushing her hand with his hand, brushing her shoulder with his shoulder. The shine in his eyes, which spent half their time looking at her body and half their time looking at her face and therefore had no time left to look anywhere else. The wide smile... He couldn't decide whether to pity her, or hate her.

"Ah... I was wondering," Rosiel said pleasantly, "do you have any plans for Saturday night?"

She blinked at him, and swallowed hurriedly to answer. "Not really... You want to go somewhere?"

He nodded. "If you'd like. I was thinking that we could go get dinner somewhere, and just catch up." And he smiled, and Kira scowled, and Katan's face was as blank as ever...

* * *

**AN: **(deep bow) Sorry for the shortness! It's even shorter than the first one... The next one will be longer, promise... And yes, in case anyone's wondering, I _am _aware that poor Katan hasn't had a single line yet -.-;; Next chapter, really! Uh, probably...


	3. Rainy Day

**Disclaimer: **Country music burns my soul.

**AN: **Okay, so _some _of it's okay, but... moving on. Chapter three! And to think, the first page or so only had to sit on my computer for about a year before I finally got to work on it... Incidentally, is it just _too _bizarre to see these characters talking even half-way normal? (sweatdrop) Just wondering...

* * *

**Chapter Three: **Rainy Day

* * *

For Alexiel, the next week passed by in a blur. Things in her new group of friends were obviously a bit strained, and when she'd talked to Kurai over the phone one night, she'd told her that Setsuna still hadn't talked to her about her confession. The more Alexiel hung out with him, the more she saw that Setsuna was a pretty nice guy, but that didn't stop a lot of her spare time from being taken up with thoughts of socking him one if he didn't stop being such a coward. All in all, she was almost surprised when the weekend rolled around.

She was more surprised by the restaurant Rosiel told her to meet him at, however. She stared up at its impressive front from the sidewalk for a moment or two, before shivering and hurrying in because it was starting to sprinkle.

The inside was equally impressive, of course. A waitress glanced at her and asked if she was looking for a young man, by any chance, and she said she was so the woman led her away through the maze of tables and booths. As they walked, Alexiel took the opportunity to look the place over. Soft music and lighting and lush, dark colors created what she couldn't help but term a romantic atmosphere. Rosiel came into sight and she immediately caught his eyes, and raised an eyebrow at him.

"Win the lottery?" she quipped, once the waitress was out of hearing range. He just chuckled and shook his head. "Well, you are _definitely _paying for this, anyway. WacDonalds would've been fine by me, you know. I'm underdressed-"

"But it wouldn't have been fine," he insisted. "We haven't had time to _really_ talk since before middle school..." Her expression softened, and he smiled brightly. "So I want you to tell me everything that's happened to you since then... everyone you've met, everything you've done... I want to hear more about this Kira Sakuya."

She laughed at him. "Fine, fine - but only if I get to ask you some questions too. Who's that guy you're always hanging out with? You never even introduced us, but he's always around."

Rosiel looked genuinely startled. "Oh, you mean Katan? I didn't...?" But he shrugged it off, because just then the waitress returned to get their orders and effectively put a stop to the conversation.

Once she was gone again, Rosiel leaned forward, looking serious. "Now, about Kira... how long have you known him?"

There was that soft look again, though he was pleased to note that it was a touch pensive. "Oh... Ninth grade. We started going out last year." She beamed. "My longest relationship yet; it's great."

Rosiel's face was a study of gentle yet earnest concern. "Then why do you look... sad?"

She stared at him a moment, and waved it off awkwardly. "What're you talking about? I really like him."

He leaned further forward, watching her eyes. "You've been with him since last year - but you're not comfortable saying you're _in love_ with him?"

Her mouth fell open, and then she sighed and rubbed the back of her neck. "Okay, you got me there... I mean, it's not like he's quite a keeper. Not my soul mate or anything. There's... uh... not exactly a lot of talking involved..." Rosiel's hand clenched under the table, but his control of his expression remained flawless. Alexiel shrugged, oblivious. "Sometimes I think we're _too _alike, if that makes sense."

He nodded sympathetically, and flipped some stray hair over his shoulder. "Well, I'm sorry to hear that. But I'm glad you're not trying to ignore the problem..."

She shrugged again. "Oh well. Let's talk about something else, okay? Like, hmm, your hair...?"

And they did talk about his hair. And they talked about all the friends Alexiel had had since their parents had separated, and the places she'd been, and the teachers she'd had, and the hobbies she'd found... They talked about Katan, too, though from the offhanded way Rosiel spoke of him, Alexiel supposed they mustn't be very close. He seemed to be the only friend Rosiel had at all, however, and Alexiel found herself a bit worried about her brother... He didn't give her the chance to say so, however; he didn't seem to want to talk about it. He steered the conversation, instead, toward the time before their parents divorced, when they were still little kids.

Alexiel laughed at the mention of one of their childhood friends. "You mean the boy down the street, who always carried around that stuffed rabbit? God, I used to tease him so _bad_ about that... Yeah, I have no clue what happened to him."

He chuckled. "Me neither... Oh, and do you remember the field behind our house? Where the yellow flowers grew every spring?"

"Oh, yeah!" she agreed excitedly. "We build a fort out there... We were such crazy kids..."

"Crazy..." He appeared to turn the word around in his mind, testing it, and then he nodded. And he smiled softly. "I kissed you back there once."

She flushed. "Oh my gosh, you did?"

"Just a few days before mom took you away?" he prompted, eyes locked on her face.

Her mouth formed a small 'o' in recognition. "Oh, _yeah_... I was crying, because I thought I'd never see anyone there anymore... I didn't cry very much even back then, and you never did know what to do with a crying girl anyway." She laughed as her awkward blush cooled.

His smile widened slightly because she remembered. "You know..." he said quietly, "I've never kissed another girl since then."

Her lips were turned down in a slightly pouting, confused frown when he suddenly leaned forward to brush his own against them.

Alexiel felt strangely disconnected somehow, as she jerked back ramrod straight against the back of her chair, wide-eyed. Rosiel's eyes showed her nothing but innocent surprise... and a ghost of anger already growing. "What the _fu_..." she whispered.

"I'm in love with you," he said simply.

The tears in her own eyes were stinging quite painfully, by the time she'd battled her way back through the maze of tables and booths into the pouring rain.

* * *

The blood was really pounding in Kurai's cheeks by the time she decided to ring the doorbell a second time. She hadn't even been sure if she was invited - what if they were ignoring her?

For years, it'd been a school-year tradition for the three of them to get together every Saturday night for movies and popcorn and general hanging out. They'd rarely missed a week. Now, though...

Before she'd even brought her hand back from the button, however, the door was open by a harried-looking Setsuna. Sara stood on tiptoe to peer over his shoulder. "Sorry 'bout that, Kurai," he said, and rolled his eyes. "I heard you the first time, but _somebody_ had to start yelling in my ear-"

Sara elbowed him in the small of the back and shoved him out of the doorway. "Come on in. I'm gonna go start the popcorn..."

While she went off to the kitchen, Setsuna and Kurai went to the living room. Setsuna started riffling aimlessly through the video cabinet; Kurai smiled shyly at his back, aware that this was the first time they'd been properly alone since the last time she'd been in this house... "Um, Setsuna?" His shoulder muscles tensed visibly, but she was not to be put off. "About what I said the other day-"

He turned around abruptly, and shocked her with a deep bow. "I'm sorry! I should have talked to you about it... We should have talked about that right away..." He grimaced visibly.

"Yeah, you should've," she said with a cool lack of sympathy. "But since you said sorry... it's okay." She smiled brightly. "You like someone else, right?"

He blushed. "Well, I-"

She waved it off. "It's okay. Really!" She smiled in a bemused sort of fashion. "I'm fine actually. I didn't think I would be, but..."

"Really?" he asked anxiously.

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah. In fact..." She smirked, and nodded her head pointedly towards the kitchen. "You have my blessings. Don't take so long to talk about it this time, would you?"

He blanched. But before he could say anything, Sara came in bearing a giant bowl of popcorn and smiling innocently. Kurai took in how his eyes slid reflexively to hers, and bit her lip lightly...

* * *

Katan reflected, as he idly watched the rain, that he probably wouldn't be getting any sleep tonight. He was, after all, on his fifth cup of coffee.

Not that he'd _wanted _that much coffee. It had simply been something to do...

The soft evening murmur of the café wrapped around him like swaddling clothe, and the steam drifting out of his coffee mug obscured his view of the window. He'd had to keep ordering more coffee so they wouldn't kick him out. Currently he was excusing this total lack of desire to leave to himself with the fact that it was really starting to come down out there, now, but secretly he knew that he'd been putting off going home since even before it'd started.

The fact of the matter was that he didn't spend many evenings at home. His spartan room was evidence to this - he slept there, but that was really about it. Most of his stuff was at Rosiel's house...

He'd gone home after school today, discreetly ignored the fact that his single mother had 'company' as he grabbed a quick dinner, and barricaded himself in that empty little room... and pretty soon, he'd made a very unusual discovery. The room was so empty that it seemed to be making him claustrophobic...

So he'd been in this coffee house ever since. He found he felt much more comfortable here. A forgotten newspaper lay on his table, open to a page about some war, somewhere... The rain was really much more interesting.

He wondered, twirling the funny little straw 'round and 'round in his slowly cooling coffee, how things would end tonight for Rosiel and Alexiel. The man's intentions were so obvious to him; he couldn't believe Alexiel hadn't figured it out. But then again, Rosiel was not your ordinary three-dimensional person. You had to know how to look at him right, kind of from the side and round-about instead of head-on... Though he hadn't always been so crazy. When Katan had first met him, he remembered, he'd idolized him.

But it wasn't like that anymore. He'd gotten worse and worse... Now, Katan supposed, he just stuck around for lack of anything better to do. Or maybe it was a bit more than that - maybe, like in his room, he didn't know what else _to _do.

The cars still whished past in the street outside, flashing their headlights across his face, but the traffic on the sidewalk had pretty much let up. Everybody who'd been caught in the storm unprepared had found shelter by now. Occasionally, someone huddled under an umbrella would hurry by. That might have been why the person who staggered slowly into his view, without so much as a coat to protect him from the onslaught, caught his eye. Then again, it just as likely could've been that incredible hair, plastered to his back though it was...

The only lasting sign that he'd been there at all was the coffee spilling across the little table onto the floor and soaking into the newspaper.

Katan flung the café door open with such force that Rosiel jumped and looked back at him. They simply stared at each other for a few moments, and the rain began to soak into Katan's clothes and hair too, and he knew just exactly what had happened. Rosiel leaned against a lamp post for support, and Katan got an odd and fleeting sensation that something that'd been building up for ages had ended, and it was time to move on to something new... He shrugged it off as all the caffeine in his bloodstream. "Rosiel..." he muttered weakly.

Rosiel smiled lazily at him. "Ah, Katan... You _are _always around, aren't you?" His eyes slid shut, and his body started to slide to the ground.

Katan rushed forward to catch him, draped his coat across thin shoulders, and helped him home.

* * *

**AN: **T.T As of the time I'm writing this, I have to take the ACT tomorrow. I blame all the drama and angst on this. But I have coffee with cinnamon in it - (c) Bulma Wannabe ;) - so I guess I'll be okay. (slightly twitchy grin)


	4. You Should Know Better

**Disclaimer: **Please see my profile for detailed information regarding the Evil Chicken Army cult. Join now - before it's too late!

**AN: **(swirly-eyed) Ooh, the drama... (whimper) Poor Alexiel. Poor Katan, he's _so_ put-upon... (grin) Actually, I rather like this chapter... three guesses why... Plus, it's long! Go me! Heh...

* * *

**Chapter Four: **You Should Know Better

* * *

After Alexiel managed to find her house again, she sat on the floor and cried awhile. But she never _had_ been much of a crier - so eventually she'd decided to pick herself up and take a shower and change into dry clothes before she caught pneumonia. After that was done, she'd made a cup of hot cocoa, thought for a bit, and called Kira to tell him to come over.

The corners of her eyes were starting to prickle again despite her best efforts by the time she was done telling him what had happened, but when she looked up at him, his expression stopped her tears cold before they started. She frowned at him from across her kitchen table; he looked somewhere between repulsed and amused.

He gave a light shrug. "Well, that proves it then - your brother's a sick guy. Sorry, but hey, every family's got one-"

She scowled. "He's not-! He's not sick..."

Kira smirked. "So sane people just get the hots for their sisters all the time, huh?"

She naturally thought of Setsuna, and of the time she'd talked to Kurai... "That doesn't matter! It's just... I don't like him that way, and I think he was really hoping I would... now things will be messed up, if he can't let it go..."

Kira took his turn glaring. "So you think the guy seriously thought you'd like to go out with your own brother, and you're _sorry _for him? Your brother's a sick pervert!"

She got to her feet. "Don't say that!"

He stood too, and looked down at her darkly. "He hurt you, right? I told you I didn't like him; maybe next time you'll listen to me."

After he stalked out, Alexiel took her time sitting back down. The little apartment she'd been so proud of felt very, very empty.

* * *

Katan shuffled through the thick, soggy blanket of leaves that last night's storm had tossed down upon the sidewalk, and found that he was feeling rather dreary.

He hadn't been able to get much out of Rosiel after he'd taken him home, but the basics were obvious. He'd revealed his feelings to Alexiel, and she'd violently rejected him. Frankly, he hadn't been very surprised... He'd spent the night at his home, but he'd left again as soon as he'd gotten up and dressed. For one thing, he was a bit worried that Rosiel would wind up sick after getting so soaked. But secretly, his main concern was just leaving him alone for very long in such a state...

His concern heightened slightly when he'd arrived at Rosiel's door and knocked for a while without getting any answer, but he told himself that Rosiel was probably just still sleeping. It wasn't a big deal; he had a key. His parents were out as usual, though this didn't mean the same thing it would've at Katan's house. Both the adults had fine careers, which took up pretty much all of their attention, Sunday or not. They had both been locked in their home offices when Katan had brought their son home the night before, and hadn't noticed.

No, the thing that really worried him - frightened him, even - was the cheerful laughter that greeted him when he knocked on Rosiel's bedroom door.

"Come in, Katan!"

He opened the door cautiously, but Rosiel seemed to be pretty harmless at the moment. He was sprawled out on his bed, one pallid hand resting on the pillow above his head and one leg dangling off the edge, and was still wearing silky white pajamas. His loose hair pooled around him and dropped off the edge of the bed like whitewater rapids. Katan's eyes widened in surprise and then narrowed as they noted the detail of the little capsule pills spilling from the overturned bottle on the mattress next to the other man.

"How's the weather outside today?" he asked pleasantly. "It's quite hot in here, isn't it?"

Katan frowned. "It's freezing."

Rosiel clicked his tongue in disagreement. "No it's not. Maybe you're sick?"

Katan stepped closer as his frown deepened. "What are those?" he demanded, indicating the pills.

Rosiel smirked. "Medicine," he lied matter-of-factly. Katan sighed, but it was okay, since he'd already known anyway. He reached out a hand, hesitating for a moment for permission before placing it on Rosiel's forehead. The pale man blinked up at him when he yanked his hand away.

"You have a fever!" he blurted. "You should be under the covers-"

"Nonsense," he said airily. "I'm fine." And he laughed again, for no apparent reason. Then, as Katan watched, he reached out for a pill and raised it to his lips...

Katan grabbed his boarder-line anorexic wrist, and they stared each other down for a moment. Rosiel twisted his wrist slightly, and Katan let go; he smirked again. "You want one?"

He jerked back, eyes widening. "N-No-"

"I really think you should," he insisted, sitting up leisurely. "I think you'd like it."

Katan shook his head silently, eyes pleading. Rosiel shrugged, and swallowed the pill dry. Katan grimaced helplessly. "Suit yourself," he said, sounding self-satisfied. "What did you want?"

He hung his head in defeat. "I just wanted to see if you were okay," he said though clenched teeth.

A languid, effeminate hand slipped into his line of sight. "Are you upset...?" Fingernails grazed his cheek ever-so-lightly and the hand cupped his face, and his muscles relaxed instantly. He saw that Rosiel had gotten up to stand in front of him; reluctantly, he lifted his head to meet his concerned gaze. He was surprised to find that the other young man was shorter than him; it hadn't always been that way...

"I'm worried," he whispered honestly.

Rosiel just smiled, and kissed him.

Katan's entire body went rigid. He tried to raise his hands to push him away, or - something, he wasn't sure what - but they were frozen at his sides. Rosiel had closed his eyes and linked his arms loosely around his neck, but he couldn't even seem to blink... It took him a moment to figure out what was happening when something pushed between his weakly resisting lips, but it broke the spell completely.

Katan fell to his knees, choking, and he stared in horror at the pill that fell into his hands. Rosiel, from where he'd been pushed back onto the bed, wiped his lips smugly. "Oh, don't be like that," he chided, and snickered hysterically. Katan found himself just wanting to curl up on the floor, but it was overpowered by his need to get out of the house.

* * *

That same morning, Sara poked her head into the living room to find Setsuna watching the television with an expression of deep concentration. She frowned. "What on earth are you watching?"

He blinked, and the serious expression disappeared. He studied the screen for a few moments. "Ah... an infomercial... about exercise equipment...?"

A rather busty woman came on the screen to demonstrate one of the machine's many uses, and Sara scowled deeply and marched over to switch the TV off. "Onii_chan_..." she complained. He grinned sheepishly.

"I wasn't actually watching that," he admitted. "Really! I was thinking... Well, what do you think about you and me and Kurai all going to an amusement park? My treat - I've been saving my money lately... no special reason..."

She gaped. "What-? Those tickets are expensive! Are you sure?"

He grinned. "Yeah! I mean, I think it'd be a nice thing to do, you know...?" She smiled gently in understanding.

"Okay then... Well, what are you waiting for? Call her!"

* * *

Kurai sighed, and uttered a rather distracted "Moshi moshi?" The place where she'd had to pause the computer game was... rather difficult... If this was salesman, she swore...

"What's up?" Setsuna greeted cheerfully; she brightened automatically. "Hey, guess what? We're going to an amusement park! You and me and Sara, my treat!"

She opened her mouth to respond, grinning widely because his enthusiasm was catching as much as anything else, but then she abruptly closed it again.

An amusement park...

Her grin softened to a small smile as her mind conjured up a memory of Alexiel's face. That time, she's said some really harsh things, but she'd had a point. It had been clear that she'd seen exactly how stupid Kurai had been - well, she could still salvage some of her dignity. She coughed explosively.

"Kurai?-!"

"Um..." She considered for a moment, and pinched her nose. "Er, I can't... I'm sick," she informed him, somewhat lamely.

On the other end, Setsuna arched an eyebrow. "Oh really...?"

She nodded vigorously, forgetting that no one was there to see. "Uh-huh! You know... the rain had stopped by the time I went home last night, but it _was _still really cold..."

He frowned. "Ugh, you're right. We should've made you stay the night..." She smirked.

"So," she continued, "you two go ahead without me, okay? It's cool."

"What? No! We can go next week-"

"But what about Sara? You've already told her, right?" she asked slyly.

Setsuna glanced over at his sister, who was watching him expectantly. "Well... yeah."

"You can't let her down! I mean, I don't think it'd exactly help your case..." Setsuna sputtered, but she just talked over him. "You'd better damn well take her, Setsuna Mudo! Take her up on the Ferris wheel, okay?" And without giving him a chance to respond, she hung up.

Afterwards, Kurai stared at the phone in her hand for a long moment. Then she smiled very slightly, in a faraway fashion, and went back to her game.

* * *

Setsuna likewise stared at his phone, somewhat more surprised as he listened to the faint dial tone. "She... hung up."

"What did you _say_ to her?" Sara demanded accusingly.

"I didn't say anything; you heard me, for crying out loud!" he responded hotly, and then shook his head. "I don't know what her problem is... She said she was sick... and she says we should go without her."

Sara frowned. "We can't do that-"

"She insisted," he interrupted wearily. "As in, I-think-she'll-kick-my-ass-on-Monday-if-I-don't insisted... I guess she really didn't want to be a downer..."

Sara grimaced. "Huh. Well..." She grinned shyly. "I don't know; don't you think you'd be bored going to an amusement park with just your sister?"

As Setsuna stared at her, he felt a ghost of a blush pass over his face... "Nah," he said hurriedly. She beamed.

* * *

Once they got to the amusement park, they were content to stay there all afternoon. They rode everything from the roller-coasters to the haunted mine ride, played the games - Setsuna won a giant teddy-bear, and did not miss the way Sara's face colored as she happily accepted it - and Setsuna bought them a lunch of a corn dog each and nachos, plus cotton candy for dessert, in spite of Sara's worrying that she would get sick, or at least fat.

All in all, it had been the definition of a perfect day at a theme park, right up until they got separated.

Sara was just beginning to get panicky, when a large hand grabbed her elbow. She turned to look, relived, but her smile froze when she found herself looking at an unfamiliar face.

The boy with the black pony-tale coming out from under his baseball cap smiled winningly. "Hey, where're you from?"

"Tokyo, of course! Where else would she be from?" She glanced hurriedly over her shoulder to find another boy, with short brown hair, and bit her lip nervously.

"Um...?"

The brown-haired boy smiled too, in a somehow worrying fashion. "Wanna come with us? We'll show you lots of fun stuff..."

"Hey..." A pair arms wrapped around her from behind; her eyes flew open wide. "Take your hands off my girl!"

The one with the pony-tail scowled. "Tsk, she has a boyfriend..."

The other boy, however, was already walking away. "C'mon, let's get outta here," he called irritably.

Setsuna, with his chin resting lightly on top of Sara's head, found himself grinning like an idiot as they walked away. Sara squirmed out of his grip, blushing fuchsia. "W-What'd you tell them that for?" she demanded.

He shrugged. "Hey, it worked, didn't it? A lot faster than arguing with them would've, too..." She smiled a little, so he abruptly nodded at something behind her. "Uh... you wanna ride that?" He continued to grin to mask his awkwardness.

She glanced over, and beamed. "The Ferris wheel? Yeah! I was actually hoping you'd ask sometime soon - we can watch the sun set!"

So they hurried over. By the time they made it to the head of the line, the clouds on the western horizon were brilliant blood reds and tangerine oranges. Sara gripped the rail excitedly as the ride started to move up.

Setsuna smiled to himself as he stood next to her. He wasn't looking at her, but he didn't need to to feel her happiness. "Did you have fun today?"

She laughed. "Of course! It was great... thank you for taking me."

He did look at her then, and found her looking back at him... very close. He hadn't realized they were standing so near... Contrary to the popular theory of time standing still at moments like this, the feeling didn't seem to last very long - or at least not long enough - but even so, he could've sworn he saw recognition in her eyes...

The next instant, however, she looked away and sighed in a contented and one-hundred-percent collected manner at the sight of the burgundy cityscape below them. "Oh - isn't it beautiful?"

Setsuna was glad that the setting sun was already coloring his face red, because he couldn't seem to tear his eyes away from her as he murmured, "Gorgeous..."

* * *

In between staying at the park until nearly closing time and then stopping at a WacDonalds on the way home for a late dinner, they didn't get back until after their parents were already asleep. They met one last time in the hall, as Sara was on her way to the bathroom and Setsuna was on his way from it.

"G'night," he said in passing, but she grabbed his wrist.

"Hey..." She smiled. "You're really sweet, oniichan." And with that simple statement, she leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. "Good night."

Setsuna stared after her long after she'd gone around the corner. For just a second there, he'd thought... hoped?... Though, mind you, even a kiss on the cheek was, well...

He touched the side of his face, and gave a pained little smile. Actually, he was beginning to wonder how much longer he could go on like this...

* * *

**AN: **Auw, I got to write fluff for this chapter! (spiraly-eyed) Wow, is that ever out of place... I'm kind of beginning to doubt my decision to keep S and S's folks together for this fic, to be honest. It makes it too easy. Kurai was supposed to make up for that, but, well... (sweatdrop) Ah, well. They'll just have to make themselves useful by balancing out Katan and Rosiel's extreme angst. (grin) Incidentally, can anyone tell I'm having entirely too much fun writing a so-called 'AU'...? Heh, actually, not to diss the creative genius that is Yuki Kaori - more like dissing the lack of genius that is TokyoPop's translators - but if the dialogue of the boys who tried to talk to Sara in the park seemed lame, that's because it was a direct quote from the manga -.-; Along with the more obvious part, of course ;) That said... review? (puppy eyes)


	5. Thank You

**Disclaimer: **Hmm, so, today I ate an apple, a crapload of 'Cajun trail mix', some chocolate, and four cups of coffee with cinnamon _and _cocoa mix in them... That could explain a lot O.o

**AN: **You see, my eating habits are, well... no comment? Wait, I can't say I 'ate' coffee, can I? But in any case, I'm sorry it took so long to get this chapter out! I meant to post it on Tuesday, but I kept forgetting about it... until just as I was falling asleep every night, heh... Forgive me? Also, Daniel Powder's song 'Bad Day' is now officially the theme song for this story. Why, you ask? Because I like it :) Anyhow, enjoy the chapter, informally known as The Fluff Chapter.

* * *

**Chapter Five: **Thank You

* * *

Monday afternoon, Alexiel eyed Kurai warily from across the sea of newly freed students. She seemed to be fairly safe at the moment... she was talking cheerfully with Sara and Setsuna... she was... glancing her way...

The black-haired girl ducked down below the level of everybody else's heads, and made a crouching sort of dash forward. Logically, Kurai would start searching where she'd last seen her, right? By the time she got through the crowd to that spot, she'd be long gone...

"_Whumph_! Jesus-" Alexiel looked up into Kurai's face, and smiled nervously.

"And now you're avoiding me?" the platinum-haired girl griped. "There's definitely something wrong with you."

Alexiel groaned. "I already told you - Kira and I had a fight, and that's all! I'm fine! I'm 'avoiding you' because you keep nagging me about it."

Kurai put her fists on her hips. "I'd stop nagging if you'd just tell me what's wrong," she said logically. Alexiel moaned.

"What do you even want to know so bad?" Alexiel complained as they resumed walking. "We kind of just met, you know?"

Kurai shrugged. "Yeah, but... you really pounded some sense into me, that one day. It helped, a lot..." She smiled shyly. "I owe you."

Alexiel seemed to consider this seriously. "So... I'm like a sensei to you now?"

Kurai laughed. "Yeah, I guess."

She beamed. "Then... will you do my homework?"

Kurai sweatdropped. "Uh... that... wasn't exactly what I had in mind."

"Aw, come on," Alexiel insisted, smirking wickedly. "You _do_ want to pay me back, right?"

Kurai eyed her shrewdly. "What if I'm a worse student than you?"

"You're not," she said smoothly.

Kurai sighed in defeat. "Damn it... _One_ time!" Alexiel laughed.

"Aw, you're sweet. Obviously I would never make you do that." Kurai boggled at her; she continued calmly. "But would you... like to come over? My place's gonna be really quiet until Kira cools off a little."

Kurai glanced at her out of the corner of her eye. She said it casually enough, but... "I'd love to," she said honestly.

They had to take the subway to get to Alexiel's home. The usual afternoon congestion forced them to press close together, and Kurai noted with lazy annoyance that Alexiel had a much more womanly figure then her... _Typical_, she mused sourly. It wasn't like she could hold it against her, though. After they got to their stop, it was only a couple more blocks. Alexiel's apartment was in a somewhat shoddy-looking building, but the neighborhood looked decent - more or less like where Kurai lived, in other words. She felt at home the moment Alexiel unlocked her door and they stepped inside, because the place was a lot like her room - kind of small and kind of a mess, but not to the point of looking like a garbage heap. The overall effect was quite cozy, she decided.

All this she found rather surprising, because she'd been expecting her 'sensei' to have a more, well, _personable _place somehow. She took pains not to let it show, however.

Alexiel made popcorn, and then they settled down around the kitchen table to do their homework together. They discovered that they were both fairly bright students, and working together caused them to finish up early. Largely due to Alexiel's cajoling, they wound up using the spare time to watch a movie, sitting at opposite ends of the small couch but sharing an afghan to ward off the evening chill.

After the show was over, Alexiel glanced at the clock and winced. "Damn... Nine thirty already. I guess you better get home..."

Kurai nodded, standing, stretching, and walking slowly to the door. Alexiel followed. "Yeah... Thanks for having me."

She smiled. "No. Thank _you _for coming out. I had fun..." She winked. "It helped, a lot."

Kurai gawped at her. "Y-you never told me what was wrong with you!" she blurted.

Alexiel sniggered, but weakly. Then she combed her fingers through her hair, and sighed. "Well, since you've been so nice... Kira and I _did _have a fight. But it's also about my brother. He..." She gave a pained grimace. Even if Kurai did seem to be opening up to the idea of that sort of relationship, she supposed she ought to play it safe. "He did something to really screw our friendship up," she said cryptically. "I'm pretty sure _he's _upset with _me_, though."

Kurai's eyes widened in realization. "Oh, yeah! I noticed that he seemed really weird in first period..." She frowned. "But that's not fair! If it's not your fault..."

On a whim, Alexiel reach out and ruffled the shorter girl's hair. "I know," she said gently. "And, thanks. Now get."

Kurai found that the odd show of kindness from the tough girl made it rather difficult to meet her eyes. She smiled, and looked down hurriedly. To say an awkward, hesitating goodnight at the doorway... how... strange... "Okay," she said lightly. "See you tomorrow?"

Alexiel nodded, and waved to her until she disappeared from sight down the hall.

* * *

Katan drug his feet a step or two behind Rosiel as they went home - to Rosiel's home, that was - after school. Rosiel seemed to be more or less back to his version of normal again, but he tended to stutter and squinted even though it was overcast and winced at loud noises. He wouldn't have come to school at all if Katan hadn't shown up first thing in the morning to coax him out of bed. They had both knew that Rosiel could have ignored him if he'd really wanted to, but it had seemed like too much effort at the time.

"Pick up your feet," Rosiel snapped, raising a hand to his temple for emphasis. Katan sighed softly, but obeyed.

Neither of them had mentioned the 'discomfort' Rosiel had caused Katan the day before when he'd had rather a little too much. Katan supposed there was a chance he didn't even remember, but he thought it was probably more likely that, to Rosiel, it just didn't matter.

Once they got inside, Rosiel immediately sprawled out on the bed. Katan frowned at him. "Aren't you going to do your homework?"

Rosiel closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I feel ill," he said, gesturing idly with his spare hand. "And I'm tired. I went in; isn't that enough for you? If you're so concerned about my homework, do it yourself."

Katan sighed again, and sat down at the desk with his own homework, but he fully intended to do Rosiel's too if he finished and the other still hadn't started. It was, well, just something he did. Kind of like coming over as usual even after something like yesterday - even after seeing him lose what little mind he had under various influences countless times...

"Oh, _forget _the homework," Rosiel groaned. "Go fix us something to eat."

Katan stood without a word and walked out to the kitchen. Rosiel drifted out after him, and watched him intently from the kitchen table while he worked. Katan set a plate down in front of him, still silent, before sitting down with his own.

"Water," Rosiel muttered vaguely. And, like magic, there was water...

Katan finished first, and went back to the bedroom. Rosiel came in sometime a little later, and lay down and pulled a pillow over his face. "Load the dishwasher," he commanded, somewhat muffled. Katan did, and came back, without a word of protest or otherwise.

"Maybe you had the right idea after all," Rosiel consented. "I feel like such shit..." He noted the way Katan visibly tensed, and smirked, but he didn't pursue the subject.

And, later, when Rosiel had to go be sick, Katan held his beautiful long hair out of the way and averted his eyes - not because he found it unbearably disgusting, but because he knew Rosiel couldn't bear to be seen in any kind of position that compromised his dignity...

In the end, Katan had to half-carry the other man back to his bed. He pulled the covers over him as best he could, and then knelt on the floor next to him. "I'm sorry," he said quietly. "If I hadn't asked you to go in today-"

Rosiel waved a limp hand. "Hush," he said tiredly. "Would have happened anyway... I always take too much..." Katan acknowledged this statement with an empty stare, though it was something that always secretly worried him. Rosiel turned his head to the side, and touched Katan's face with his trembling hand, and Katan experience a painful moment of déjà vu... "Stay here tonight," he said. He looked almost puzzled as he added, "And... thank you..."

Katan continued to stare at him blankly, but inside he suddenly felt full to bursting with something he had no idea how to express... So he didn't express it, but merely stood and walked off towards the couch in the living room. Rosiel watched him go.

* * *

Katan's dreams were a disturbing muddle of sight and sound that passed almost too quickly to be understood and were destined to be utterly lost - except for the sense of danger and melancholy they invoked - the moment he woke. It was a disorienting feeling, and it took him a moment to realize that it was still the middle of the night, and Rosiel was standing over him.

"I feel," he choked hoarsely, and couldn't seemed to get any more else out. Katan was shocked to see that he was crying. He let Rosiel crawl onto the couch next to him - half on top of him really - and wrapped his arms around him, and let him muffle his sobs of agony into his chest. Katan could have sworn he heard 'Alexiel' in there, but that didn't matter. He petted his hair until the sobs ceased and the breathing became slow and rhythmic, and eventually he fell asleep himself, breathing in the scent of that hair.

* * *

Earlier that same evening, Setsuna lay on the roof of his house, and watched the sun set for a second night in a row. It was another stunning one, rosy and rich, but his eyebrows were furrowed and he seemed to look through it...

He was so deep in thought that he jumped and sat bolt upright when he head footfalls on the roof. A feminine laugh reached his ears. "You missed dinner, silly."

He looked over his shoulder, to find Sara making her way carefully down the steep shingled surface from the attic window above. The sunset light lit her up dazzlingly, so that he couldn't quite think of anything to say. She leaned her head to the side quizzically, and smiled.

"What were you thinking about, anyway? From what I could see, you looked kind of sad..."

She sat down next to him, and he reflexively wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "It's nothing," he grumbled.

She punched him in the stomach very lightly, but he let it push him back onto the roof, throwing his hands dramatically into the air and making her giggle. "Don't look so sad about nothing, then," she said, trying to sound stern around her giggles.

He just smiled at her, so after a moment she lay down with him, snuggling up against his broad chest. For a moment he just lay there, but then he wrapped his arms around her. And to think, just seconds ago he'd been thinking that he... really needed to stop indulging like that... The problem, he was sure, was that she was just so _warm_. And soft, and fit so neatly under the crook of his neck, and smelled like spring, and...

She picked at the buttons of his shirt, and he played with her hair. A gentle evening breeze blew over them, and he tightened his arms around her fractionally to protect her from the chill. There was a long, long, quiet moment, and Setsuna allowed his eyes to drift shut. A few minutes ago, his minds had been spinning around and around itself, but her mere presence... he could just fall asleep right here...

"I love you," he muttered, as his fingertips brushed across her cheek to touch her lips.

He only fully realized that he'd actually said it when, after a moment of stiff shock, she jerked back to stare at him. He stared back in horror, which multiplied a hundred times when he saw the tears welling up in her eyes...

"W-What?" he asked, grinning like mad even when he scrambled out from under her, up the roof, holding his hands up in a helpless gesture. "I-I mean, you know, you're my s-_sister_, of course I mean-"

"No you don't," she said, with her hand over her mouth.

His face crumpled. "B-But-" He'd never seen her eyes so wide... Abruptly he turned and struggled to his feet in one awkward movement, and scrambled mindlessly up toward the window, towards escape...

She caught him around the waist, sobbing into his back. "O-Oh, God! I love you!"

Eventually he turned around and gathered her up in his arms again. They stood like that for a very long time, peacefully, as the stars came out.

* * *

**AN: **(teary-eyed) Review If You Love Fluff!


	6. Sanctuary

**Disclaimer: **Damn, man, did you know that ferrets were domesticated in Ancient Egypt? Huh...

**AN: **That's what my coffee mug tells me, anyway. No, really. I feel so enlightened! Also, a Japanese culture factoid for those who don't know: 'bento' is a box lunch, though traditionally a bit fancier than the typical American fare of PB&J and a banana, and it generally comes with strong implications of affection, especially towards a spouse ;) Oh, and one more thing - I'm sorry in advance for totally bastardizing Kira in this chapter... in fact, kinda in the whole story so far, nervous grin. I just think that, because he and Alexiel are both such headstrong people, it'd probably take stuff at _least _as major as what they went through together in the manga to make things work between them... under normal conditions, I just don't think it'd work. (corny excuses...) Don't worry, Kira will leave the story on a redeeming note, promise :)

* * *

**Chapter Six: **Sanctuary

* * *

In Setsuna's dream world, he woke up to the sun on his face and the sound of birdsong. In reality, however, he woke up to the sound of his alarm clock, slightly before dawn. After he switched the obnoxious device off, he lay back down on his bed, but his blood was pounding much too fast to fall back to sleep.

Yesterday night... had been a big mistake. Or a dream. A huge misunderstanding, at the very least. Though he could swear he could still feel his arms around her, and her heart beating against him... A very realistic dream, then. Yeah.

Eventually he managed to drag himself up, and he shuffled off to the bathroom first thing to splash his face in an effort to clear the hallucinations from his mind. He felt much better for it, and decided with renewed vigor that he would somehow have to put a stop to such dreams. Perhaps there was a pill he could take...?

And yet, when he made it to the kitchen and saw her standing there, already in her school uniform and doing something at the counter with her back to him, he found himself watching her quietly without even thinking about it. Soft hair - _long _legs - gentle grace... He sighed, and she glanced over her shoulder. She beamed to see him, and turned and held something out under his nose.

"Bento," she said, by way of explanation. "I've never tried to make one before, but I think it turned out alright..." She blushed prettily. "You... don't think it's silly, do you?"

He took a deep breath. "It smells great," he said, and his voice cracked, and he coughed to hide it.

She lowered the bento box, and they stared at each other for a long moment. They were so close that he could see her throat move when she swallowed, hard... Setsuna saw her glance left, into the living room, and right, even though there was no doorway on that side - perhaps she was afraid someone was spying on them through the window? - and then, blush deepening considerably, she pulled herself up to her tiptoes with a hand on his shoulder to kiss him quick.

They stayed that way for a few immeasurable seconds, lips pressed together simply and chastely, and then she hurriedly dropped her hand and started to turn away, stammering, but Setsuna silenced her by catching her up in a tight hug. He buried his face in that soft hair, grinning the biggest grin ever.

* * *

That day at lunch, Alexiel did not sit with Kira for a second day in a row. Rosiel and Katan were not present, either, of course; she hadn't seen them since first period. Instead, she ate with Kurai.

At first she'd asked why Kurai wasn't eating with Sara and Setsuna like usual, and suggested that the four of them all sit together, but Kurai just smiled and gestured with her chopsticks to where the siblings sat together a few tables away. They sat rather closer than the crowd in the cafeteria required, noses practically touching when they turned their heads to speak softly to each other, giggling over something private...

"You mean, you think...?" Alexiel whispered.

Kurai smirked. "I _know_." She jabbed a chopstick at them again. "See? She made him a bento. They went to a theme park together on Sunday..."

Alexiel chuckled softly. "And you're okay with all this, huh?" she said, just a little sarcastically.

She shrugged. "Yeah," she said simply, and went back to eating.

Out of the blue, someone plunked a tray down on the table on Alexiel's other side. "Hey, babes. Long time, no see..." The voice was deep and dark, and the tone wasn't quite as playful as the words.

Alexiel found her heart beating too fast as she stared up at him with wide eyes. What was that feeling, anyway? Something inside her recoiled as he sat down close to her... He shoveled a few bites of food into his mouth before speaking again.

"You've been avoiding me," he accused bluntly. "Are you really that upset, just 'cus I insulted your bastard brother?" Alexiel's eyes darted automatically to Kurai, and Kira grinned. "Ooh, sorry - virgin ears, huh?"

Kurai bristled. "What the hell?" Kira just sniggered.

Alexiel finally willed her mouth into working order again. "I need to talk to you," she said coldly. "In private."

He scoffed. "Yeah, whatever. Just lemme finish eating."

She rolled her eyes, and stood. "_Now_." She was distracted, though, as Kurai stood too. She frowned down at the shorter girl. "What...?"

"I'm coming," she said firmly.

Normally, she would've thought the assertion to be totally tactless, and was about to open her mouth to protest... Then, however, she realized with unmistakable clarity what that look in her eyes was. Kurai was... afraid of him...

Afraid of Kira? Alexiel's lips parted slightly in surprise. She wasn't afraid of him, not exactly, she knew that for sure, but then what _was_ that feeling...?

Kira stood with a loud sigh. "Alright, I'm coming..." He gave Kurai another amused look, but seemed to deem her below speaking to; she glared daggers at his back as he turned to lead the way out of the cafeteria.

They turned into the first empty classroom they found, and Kira sat on the teacher's desk. "This good enough?" he griped.

She frowned at him disapprovingly. "Yeah. Kira..." She took a deep breath, and let it all out in a whoosh, sounding tired. "I wish you wouldn't talk about my brother like that. He's got problems, I think... But he's still my brother."

He shrugged, looking bored. "That it? I don't know why we had to come all this way... But whatever. If it bugs you that bad, we just won't talk about him." Her frown deepened, but he flashed a toothy grin at her...

"That's not good enough!" Kurai blurted out. She seemed to pale when they both looked at her, but she continued. "You can't just not talk about it... I mean, you need to reach some kind of agreement..." She gulped when Kira glared at her.

"Hey, stay out of this. It's none of your business; I don't know why you're even here-"

"She's right," Alexiel snapped. "I... don't think things are working out between us." She shook her head impatiently at his skeptical look. "It's not just about my brother! We never bother to reach an agreement about _anything_. You just want to forget about it and screw around..." She grinned, or maybe grimaced. "And I'm not saying you're not good for that much... but I can't even do that... when I'm disgusted by you."

Kira stared at her. "_I _disgust you, though your brother doesn't...?" He laughed unpleasantly. "So, what? Are you breaking up with me?"

His eyes challenged her, and she met them. "Yeah, I guess so."

Both the room's other occupants gaped at her for a moment. Kira dropped to his feet. "You bitch-" He pulled back a hand to slap her, but she caught his wrist. He scowled darkly at her in surprise, and then abruptly stamped out of the room.

In the silence that followed, Kurai reached out hesitantly to touch Alexiel's shoulder, but she didn't quite manage to because Alexiel crumpled to her knees. "I-I really just did that, didn't I?" she commented, laughing shakily and holding her head. Kurai was relived to see that she wasn't crying, because she didn't think she could've handled that.

"Yeah, you did," Kurai assured her with a smile, kneeling down next to her. Alexiel saw the open admiration in her eyes, and grimaced.

"Yeah, well, I couldn't have done it without you," she insisted. "I don't know... I just always ignored it before..." She rocked back onto her heals with a bemused expression on her face, and absentmindedly drew patterns on the floor with a finger. "Though you know, it's really my fault that it came to this... I just don't attract the right kind of guys. I'm too rough for them, I guess. Nice guys, they want a sweet girl - someone to protect. Look at Sara and Setsuna." She smiled at Kurai. "Nice guys want someone like you."

Kurai flushed. "Nuh-uh!" she objected, shaking her head rapidly for emphasis. "I don't even know what you're talking about! I'm a tomboy!" Abruptly, her expression softened, and she grinned with embarrassment. "And anyway... sometimes, you look like you need protecting, too."

Alexiel stared at her for a moment, and then she chuckled. "Now _I_ don't know what _you're_ talking about. You've got to be the only person who's ever thought _that_."

As Alexiel stood to go, Kurai laughed, and grabbed her hand, and they walked out that way.

* * *

Katan smiled slightly to himself, secretly enjoying the breeze as he followed Rosiel away from the school building as usual. It was nice to have some good weather at least one more day before winter set in...

All in all, today had just generally been nice so far. He'd had a moment of fear when he'd woken up and Rosiel hadn't been there, but just as he was about to go looking for him, the man had stuck his head in the living room door and thrown a pack of poptarts at him, warning that they were going to be late. During first period Rosiel hadn't looked up once, spending the entire time working a particularly detailed version of his favorite doodle... but after that, he'd seemed to be feeling much better than the day before. He'd kept fairly quiet, but when he'd had to speak, it had been with his usual cool sophistication, making all the girls (and some of the guys) blush. It was only when they were alone, like now, that Katan saw how his shoulders slumped... Nevertheless, he considered it to be progress.

His calm feeling was suddenly shattered as someone pushed him roughly aside from behind. All he could see was a shock of black hair pulled back in a loose pony-tail, as the stranger grabbed Rosiel by the shoulder and whirled him around.

"You!" he snapped. "You're sick, you know that? Do you have _any_ fucking idea?"

"What...?" Katan heard the amusement in Rosiel's voice, and mentally groaned in worry. Something was telling him that this wasn't likely to end prettily...

"I know you want her," the man hissed - and Katan recognized him now. Rosiel froze. "You sick bastard. She broke up with me because of you! Bitch's probably already with you, huh? You're both sick!"

Kira's eyes were just a little crazy... What really concerned Katan, however, was how Rosiel was slowly slipping a hand into his pocket. He suspected a knife but didn't rule out a gun, since Rosiel usually preferred them... He didn't give himself time to decide, however, before he grabbed Kira's arm and forcefully pulled him back.

"Leave him alone," he said coolly. He met Kira's eyes, and held them. "Alexiel isn't interested in him. You know that, don't you?"

Whatever Kira saw in his eyes, he only scowled back for a moment or two, before wrenching his arm free and stalking away in the direction he'd come, deliberately knocking his shoulder into Katan's on the way. "Go to hell!" he shouted, but even though he stressed it with a middle-finger salute, it somehow seemed to be an empty threat...

Rosiel watched as Katan absently rubbed he shoulder, but he supposed that no serious damage had been done. He raised his eyes, instead, to Katan's hard expression as he watched the more violent man go. A thought occurred to him, and he found it rather odd, that Katan always seemed to, well, _there_...

* * *

**AN: **(bouncing up and down happily) My cat found my pirate duck! Er, that's relevant, really. Trust me. I'll let you know when I figure out how. But it makes me happy :) Review, please?


	7. Now and Then

**Disclaimer: **Sorry, the nail polish remover fumes are making me dizzy, what did you say?

**AN: **Gosh, chapter seven, already? It feels like I was stuck on chapter one just yesterday... So you know, this story will only be ten chapters. Thought I probably ought to let you all know now, just so no one goes into cardiac arrest when I suddenly spring the last one on ya... So the good news is - three more to go after this! (This is the part where you yell 'duh'! and throw dead goldfish at me -.-;;) The bad news? From this point on... I'm kind of stuck -.-; I've actually got two more chapters written, but frankly I think they suck, and I'm considering rewriting them. Oi, the agony...

* * *

**Chapter Seven: **Now and Then

* * *

The next day, Katan stayed near Rosiel whenever he could, and worried whenever he couldn't. Frankly, he didn't know whether he was more concerned about Kira doing something to Rosiel, or Rosiel doing something to him... By the end of the day, however, the two hadn't so much as looked at each other, and Katan was able to relax.

Rosiel had seemed rather tired again, actually, but Katan hadn't been too concerned about that. He was probably just depressed. Really, Katan was surprised that his reaction to Alexiel's rejection of him hadn't been more violent. _That_ worried him a little, but his main concern at the moment... was that Rosiel had fallen asleep when he hadn't been looking. On top of one of Katan's textbooks, specifically. He'd finished all of his homework except for what he'd need that book for, and the other young man still hadn't woken up...

Katan sighed, resting his chin on his palm and watching him. He was tempted to get a camera... though then Rosiel would chew him out if he woke him up...

He couldn't help but wonder how they'd gotten to this point. With difficulty, he conjured up a memory of a Rosiel who would've laughed in genuine amusement if he'd tried something like that. It had been years since that time, though, so it was no wonder it was hard to remember... hard to remember the Rosiel who had protected him, instead of the other way around...

His expression softened around the edges. Why was he letting himself remember this, anyway? Remembering didn't change anything. He thought it must have something to do... with how his lush lips parted slightly when he slept, like a child...

Once upon a time, Rosiel had been taller than him. He hadn't had such a slender, feminine figure, either. It was probably because of the drugs, and how he never ate quite right anymore. Katan had met him on the first day of middle school. He'd naturally been scared out of his wits as it was, and a couple of older boys had noticed it. That, combined with his unusual half-American complexion, was enough to mark him as an ideal target... Rosiel, despite the fact that he was new too and his hair was even blonder than Katan's, had warded them off with mere strength of character.

He could have lorded the debt over him. These days, Katan thought he might. But at the time, they had become instant best friends. Rosiel had confined in him that his blond hair was actually because he'd been born a twin when his mother's body had only been strong enough to support one child, and he'd been born somewhat unhealthy as a result... Katan had noticed right away how odd Rosiel had looked when he'd spoken of his twin, and at the time he'd thought that this ill health was the reason.

Later, though, he'd learned about the divorce. Rosiel had told him how much he missed his sister in words that made Katan's own heart ache, and about how they hoped to get into the same high school. Rosiel had always been a little sad and a little different, it was true, but he had really started to deteriorate once that particular dream failed to come to fruition.

Katan's mind went of its own accord to how he'd found him on Sunday... He didn't see how he could deteriorate much further, really. So he'd seen him do worse. At least Rosiel had never tried to get him to try it before...

He shuddered. At least he'd never kissed him before...

His mind shut down in self-defense at about that point. Unfortunately, this enlightened him to the fact that, somehow, his hand had reached out to caress platinum hair... He jerked his hand back hurriedly, and stared as if surprised to find that it was really his.

Though it was only logical to be concerned, he... was really becoming more and more obsessed, wasn't he...?

He might have finished as much of his homework as he could, but that was really only an excuse to mask his moment of insecurity as he fled the house.

Rosiel waited a few minutes before opening his eyes. He leaned back in his chair, yawned decorously, and stretched until his shoulder popped with an air of deep thoughtfulness.

* * *

"Hey, you! Wait up!"

Kurai blinked on recognizing Setsuna's voice, and looked back. Well, she'd been hoping to find Alexiel before the next period started, but they would do. "What's up?"

Sara, walking up beside him, beamed at her. "Well, we were actually wondering... Would you go bowling with us after school? If you don't have too much homework, of course. Our treat!"

Setsuna looked apprehensive as he elaborated, "We, uh, well, you really should this time. We want to talk to you about something."

Kurai's face split into a huge grin. "Really? Aw, geez, I'm glad you trust-" She suddenly burst into a severe coughing fit. "I-I mean, uh, can Alexiel come?"

Sara sweatdropped. "Um, we kind of wanted to talk to you privately..."

Kurai waved it off. "Come on - she's your friend too, right?"

"Well, we haven't spent _that _much time with her yet..." Setsuna said thoughtfully.

"It'll be fine," she said significantly. "Hey, if I find her before next period, I can tell her! Gotta go!"

Sara's shoulders slumped in defeat as she rushed off. "Well, she sure is... happy..." Setsuna grinned nervously, wondering...

* * *

After the four had had their fill of bowling - Kurai, as usual, proved to be the best of them all, though the group's newest edition would have been pretty good if only her long nails hadn't interfered - they grabbed some food and watched others play from the sidelines. Without the game to distract her, Kurai could only contain her anticipation for a few minutes before cutting straight to the chase.

"So, what did you want to tell us?"

Sara choked on her drink. Setsuna's eyes darted back and forth from her to Alexiel a few times, before he cleared his throat and stammered, "Well, um, we - that is - uh, do you mind if we just talked about it some other time...?"

Alexiel rolled her eyes. "It's because of me, right?"

There was a rather vast expanse of awkward silence. "Well," Sara said hesitantly, "uh... Don't take it personally! It's just, it's really awkward as it is, and we just met you, and we don't really know how you'd react... we don't want everyone at school to..." She squirmed miserably.

Alexiel smirked. "React to what? You're together, right? So?"

This time, Sara dropped her drink right onto the floor. Setsuna nearly fell out of his chair. Kurai scoffed. "Oh, pu-_leaze_. Did you think you were hiding it?"

The couple smiled shyly, and after a little while they all laughed. For the rest of the evening, Sara and Setsuna held hands.

* * *

Afterwards, Sara and Setsuna walked home together. Kurai lived just down the block from them and could've went with, but she decided to wait with Alexiel for her cab so the girl wouldn't have to be alone - and so Sara and Setsuna _could _be alone.

"Man, I hope they appreciate how nice I am," Kurai groused.

"I'm sure they do," Alexiel assured her, amused. "And you didn't have to wait with me, you know. Now _you'll _be alone when you walk home."

She shrugged. "Well, I didn't want to be a third wheel," she admitted, and laughed because it seemed odd to say.

Alexiel smiled. "I've got to admit, it's weird, but they make the cutest couple. Makes me feel like there's some hope for this stupid dating thing after all..."

Kurai watched her out of the corner of her eyes. "How long do you think it'll be, before you're ready to go out with anyone again?" she asked quietly.

She shrugged. "Depends if anyone likely comes along, you know?" she said with a grin, and then got a little more serious. "Who knows, I guess. I've got to admit, I'm not really as upset about Kira as I thought I'd be. I guess I was kind of over him before I had to break up with him, you know?" Kurai laughed, and she gave her an appraising look. "And what about you? How long do you think it'll be for you...?"

"Hmm... I don't know. To be honest, I think I might have been over him before I had to give up on him." And she grinned...

* * *

**AN: **Now, my little reading minions, review! (mad cackle) And then go download Hender's song 'Lips of an Angel'! Home state pride, w00t! I, er, blame the ice cream...? (deep bow) Actually, I should probably apologize for the possible crappiness of this chapter. It was kinda crappy, wasn't it? (whimper) Ah well, I'll try to make up for it in the next chapter... if I can even get it off the ground, eh heh...


End file.
